2025 Camp Challenge Course Facilitator

At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity. Our mission is to inspire and support youth from underserved rural and urban communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice. We do this through a unique fusion of art, environment and mentorship. Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term relationships with caring adults, which nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood.

Caldera has a $4M budget, a 18-member board, 15 full-time year-round employees, and a range of seasonally contracted artists and staff. Its administrative office is in Portland, Oregon, and its Arts Center is located outside of Sisters in Central Oregon.

As part of Caldera’s summer learning team, you will gain leadership, communication, and collaboration skills and unparalleled resiliency while building meaningful relationships with young learners and adults. You’ll have daily opportunities to expand your own creativity and sense of adventure, upheld in a supportive community full of networking opportunities. During your time off, you’ll be centrally located in Oregon’s playground for play in the Cascade Mountains, sampling local flavor, or simply relaxing on Caldera’s 116 acres of awe-inspiring property.

Position Title: Challenge Course Facilitator

Supervisor: Adventure Team Supervisor

Compensation:

• Salary/Rate of Pay: $154/day with current certification, $142/day if certification is needed. Additional 1% increase for each year of experience working at Camp Caldera (not to exceed 7%); plus one planning day added to first paycheck upon curriculum submission
• Training Salary/Rate of Pay: $50-75/day
• Room and board provided during days with programming; room only during non-programming days. A light dinner will be provided on staff arrival days. Brunch is served on the last day of each session.

Location: This is a seasonal position at our Arts Center- 31500 Blue Lake Drive, Sisters, OR 97756 (transportation not provided).

Choose one or more sessions; placement is dependent on availability & scheduling (must be available for all dates in session(s) chosen). Must be available for training dates and on the following dates and times to start each session:

• Arrive 11:00 am June 30 for Staff Training June 30-July 3
• Arrive between 1:00-2:00 pm July 5* for the Immersion 1 (High School) session July 6-15
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 18* for the immersion 2 (High School) session July 19-27
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm July 30* for the Discovery 1 (Middle School) session July 31-Aug 7
• Arrive between 4:00-5:00 pm Aug 10* for the Discovery 2 (Middle School) session Aug 11-18
• Indicates Half day compensation

Sample Daily Schedule:

8:00-8:30 Breakfast

8:40-9:20 Community Circle

9:30-12:25 Teach Classes OR Break

12:25 Kitchen Prep

12:30-1:20 Lunch

1:20-1:50 Staff Meeting

1:50-3:10 Lead Free Time Activity or Class Prep

3:10-6:20 Teach Classes OR Break

6:30-7:30 Dinner

7:45-8:45 Capture the Flag or Other Evening Activity

8:45-9:45 Campfire

10:30-11:30 Night Duty (once per session)

Equity & Inclusion

We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.

We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.

Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.

Position overview:

The Challenge Course Facilitator plans and implements curriculum that utilizes all elements of Caldera’s challenge course. They incorporate program goals into course facilitation and encourage campers to set goals, take positive risks, and challenge personal boundaries while on the course. This position will also help campers build a sense of their own strengths within a group and increase participants’ sense of self-confidence and mutual support. Ideal candidates for this position will promote personal responsibility and stimulate conversation that makes the lessons learned on the Challenge Course relevant to campers’ home and camp lives. This position may also implement and arrange program components outside of challenge course settings, such as off-site field trips or overnight hikes.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Create and submit engaging lesson plans that utilize the course’s eight low elements and three high elements prior to Day 0 of each session
• Complete check of course to ensure setup is correctly completed prior to each camp session, and if applicable, manage take-down at the end of camp season
• Facilitate trust/team building activities suited to the dynamics of each group and allow time for reflection and debriefing
• Follow safety procedures as specified in the Camp Caldera Challenge Course Policies & Procedures Manual
• Manage and monitor upkeep of the course, including a safety check of elements and surrounding environment prior to each use
• Keep accurate records and log the use of equipment
• Provide necessary maintenance of equipment and/or work with Camp Manager to submit work orders
• Spray helmets for lice prior to each use
• Alert supervisor to relevant camper issues
• Co-facilitate additional components of daily program as requested
• Other duties as assigned

General Responsibilities:

• Promote program understanding and involvement through Caldera’s goals and agreements, participation agreement, and responsibility process
• Actively participate in all aspects of camp life including: camper orientation, community meetings, evening activities, campfire, free time, etc.
• Model appropriate camper behavior at all times
• Perform duties with consistency and integrity
• Set and respect personal boundaries while acting as mentors, guides, and allies to campers
• Oversee health and safety of charges in fire drills and emergency procedures
• Maintain cleanliness of living and common areas and help with clean-up at the end of each session

Qualifications:

• Applicants for the position should complete a professional program (group facilitation techniques, belay, basic skills and leading-edge climbing) through a certifying agency that is insured to train facilitators, or equivalent. (Please upload proof of certification, or indicate whether you will need certification/recertification)
• Candidates must have a minimum of one year experience facilitating groups of middle and/or high school youth
• Current CPR and First Aid certification (please upload copies of certification)
• Ability to understand our racially diverse student population’s perspective, either through lived experience, previous qualifications, or work experience
• Ability to navigate through potentially triggering and challenging conversations and situations while maintaining focus on the wellbeing of youth
• Familiarity with culturally responsive and anti-oppression frameworks and experience working with racially and ethnically diverse staff and youth
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries in a proactive and positive manner
• Willingness to live in a camp setting and work irregular and long hours. Additionally, you must have the ability to deal with limited cell and internet service and daily exposure to outdoor factors such as sun, heat, bugs, bats, snakes, etc.

Living Conditions:

• Requires on-site living in shared staff quarters.
• A vegetarian option (that may include eggs and/or dairy) will be available for all meals. We do our best to accommodate other dietary restrictions; however, employees with special dietary needs should plan to bring food to supplement or replace provided meals. Please address specific needs with your supervisor.
• Typical days are 12 hours in length, with sessions that make for up to 10 straight days of work without a full day off.
• Alcohol and drugs are not permitted on campus, even in personal living quarters.

Working Conditions:

• Must be physically able to move around 116 acres of camp property with varied terrain
• Must have visual, perceptual, and cognitive ability to recognize and respond quickly to health and safety concerns of students and appropriately re-direct any behavior that is misaligned with Caldera agreements
• Employee must carry out their duties regardless of inclement weather, which can include but is not limited to, heat, rain, wind, cold, and smoky or dusty conditions.
• Moments of quiet and non-activity are few and spread out
• Creating a cohesive staff environment round the clock can be challenging. It is crucial that staff see youth and adults through a strengths-based lens and prioritize creating the best possible youth experience at all times, despite what challenges may arise at the staff level
• Physical Demands (which can include bending, stooping, hiking, climbing and stretching) are: 5% Sitting, 45% Standing, 30% Walking, 25% Lifting/Carrying/Pushing/Pulling Pounds 5 -80 lbs.

To Apply: complete the application, uploading a sample challenge course lesson plan